Celebrity but not Immunity.

Few days back, famous Bollywood singer, Kanika Kapoor, known for her songs Baby Doll and Chittiyan Kaliyaan was in news again. But this time not for the launch of any new music album or song, rather for being tested positive for COVID-19 and for infecting others with same.

This happened, when she returned to Lucknow from London, perhaps not accompanied by anyone other than corona. She attended several parties including a lavish party at a five star hotel in Lucknow, which was attended by several bureaucrats and political big guns. Sources also claim that she hid her travel history from authorities. 

This landed her into a legal tussle after an FIR was filed againet her under Sections 188, 269, and 270 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on a complaint by the Chief Medical Officer of Lucknow on the ground that when the singer was screened at the Lucknow airport on March 14, "high viral load was detected". She was advised "home quarantine", but the advice was "disregarded".

Obviously, she denies the allegations. But whatever may have been the scenario, she stands responsible for being negligent and for infection cases that are likely to come because of her.

A different example.

While celebrities like Kanika fail to understand their responsibilities and consequences of such failure, there are several persons who paint a different picture. 

Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara and former Australia pacer Jason Gillespie, who returned from UK, are under self-quarantine. This despite the fact that they have not been found to have any symptom of the deadly virus. They are simply following the government guidelines for those recently returned from Europe, the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Probably, others will learn some lessons from them. Being a celebrity or a prominent public figure doesn't imply immunity from government rules and Rule of Law. Instead of neglecting their responsibilities, they must promote people to follow the guidelines.

When such celebrities, endorse a product via media, people blindly trust them and consume such products. 

Whatever Kanika pleads in her defence in the court of law, she will still be guilty for putting several lives in danger. In a nutshell, a celebrity without sense of responsibility is nothing but a sham personality.